A new report claims that China is using its increased influence in Latin America to circumvent the Panama Canal with massive infrastructure projects in Peru and Brazil.
The report, which was published on Tuesday by Horizon Advisory, warned, “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is well on its way to seizing influence and coercive leverage across Latin America.”
Horizon Advisory explained that China has opened a new port in Chancay, Peru, which “allows China to bypass the Panama Canal while cutting transit times and costs for trans-Pacific trade with Latin America.” The report also noted that China is investing in a “bi-oceanic railway” in Brazil that “locks in Chinese influence and presence” in the region.
Addressing the threat of Chinese influence in Latin America, Nate Picarsic, co-founder of Horizon Advisory and a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told The Daily Caller, “We’re catching up to the threat. We’re 20 some years behind China having its fingers into the Panama Canal, and as we belatedly get to catching up and competing there, they’re launching these massive new projects in Peru. They’re going to allow them to circumvent the Panama Canal.”
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The Daily Caller reported that the Chancay Port, which allows China to bypass the Panama Canal, became operational in November of 2024 after China made multiple investments in Peru. Horizon Advisory’s report warned that accessing the Chinese market “comes at the cost of both market and operational dependence on Beijing” and that China’s ultimate goal is to “ensure that Peru’s economy, and the larger regional economy rely on China.”
Horizon Advisory’s report claimed that China’s “megaprojects” in Peru and Brazil are evidence that China is “not simply looking to seize economic gain in Peru and Brazil” but that China “wants a new strategic corridor that can replace the Panama Canal.”
Addressing China’s attempt to expand its influence in the Western Hemisphere, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told The Daily Caller, “We encourage host countries to exercise absolute sovereignty over their critical infrastructure and resist the pull of Chinese investment that undermines local economies and labor.”
“The United States will continue to work with governments across the Western hemisphere so they can make informed decisions about their interactions with China,” the State Department spokesperson added.
